LONDON, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --
Metage Capital Limited: open letter to the Shareholders of Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Investment Company Limited ("FAP")
Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Investment Company Limited
1ST Floor, BCI House
Avarua, Rarotonga
Cook Islands
Dear fellow Shareholders,
On March 22, 2021 the Company issued a circular for a Special Meeting of Shareholders to be held on April 22, 2021 to re-domicile FAP to Singapore, in order to mitigate a change in Cook Island tax law. The Re-Domiciliation Proposal (Proposal 1) requires the affirmative vote of at least 75% of the total votes of the Shareholders present or represented by proxy at the Meeting. Metage Capital recommends that shareholders vote against this resolution and encourage the Board to bring forward alternative proposals that address the two fundamental issues facing the Company: its poor investment performance and the excessive discount between its net asset value per share and its share price.
The investment performance of FAP has been poor as can be seen in the table below[1] from the October 31, 2020 Annual Accounts. The Company has underperformed its benchmark over 1, 3, 5 and 10 years at a net asset value level. Its share price performance has been worse, owing to the large discount between its net asset value per share and share price. As at April 8, 2021 this discount was 23.9%[2]. This is a level which is highly unusual for a fund investing in high quality bonds and should be unacceptable to both the Board and the Investment Manager.
Annual compound total returns
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Investment Company Limited NAV | -2.9% | 0.8% | 4.5% | 3.5% |
Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Investment Company Limited-Market Value | -6.3% | -6.4% | -0.4% | -0.3% |
Benchmark | 6.2% | 5.6% | 6.0% | 6.0% |
JP Morgan Asian Credit Index (JACI) | 6.5% | 6.0% | 5.5% | 8.0% |
In bringing forward these re-domiciliation proposals the Board has chosen to take a narrow, tax-driven view of the process, rather than to look at the operation of FAP as a whole. It is notable that whilst their analysis "…included input from tax, legal, accounting, and other advisors…[3]" there was not a robust process to seek input on what Shareholders actually want. Metage therefore recommends that Shareholders vote against Proposal 1 and encourage the Board to bring forward amended proposals that properly address the poor performance and the discount between the value of the Company's assets and its market capitalisation. We are happy to discuss how this might best be achieved with other shareholders or the Board.
Yours sincerely,
Tom Sharp
Director
Metage Capital Limited
Princes House
38 Jermyn Street
London, SW1Y 6DN
United Kingdom
Email: tom.sharp@metage.com;
Tel: +(44) 203 813 8590
[1] Page 13 of October 31, 2020 Annual Report for Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Investment Company Limited
[2] Source: Weekly Company Update for April 8, 2021
[3] Page 6: Background to the proposal; Notice of Special and Annual General Meeting of Shareholders And Management Information Circular
